Tradition Holds Strong
“We’re one of the many teams who have a lot of rebuilding to do this season.” Pipestone Area Head Coach Clay Anderson said, following the 32-6 win over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Friday night. “We have a lot of first-year kids playing for us this year, not a lot of experience, but plenty of leadership amongst the team. They hold each accountable in and out of practice throughout the week. The one thing we really wanted to stress this week was playing with confidence, playing to win.”
The Arrows were able to fill the field with seniors, although, for many of them, it was there first start. Senior Running Back Jason Steenstra pounded his way in from 2 yards out for the first score, he also added the 2-point conversion as well. Following a safety as a result from a high long snap, fellow Senior Quarterback,JT Tinklenberg ,connected with Steenstra for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Braeden Benz caught the 2-point conversion from Tinklenberg. Linebacker Lucas Winter picked off a pass on the next drive and returned it 30 yards to the Knights 16-yard line. Benz found the end zone for his own score pouncing on a fumbled ball for the touchdown. Cornerback Carter Pottratz picked off another pass on the ensuing drive. Running Back Eric Lange punched the final score in from 2 yards out and followed up by converting the 2-point conversion.
Highlighted Players from PAS:
2020
Steenstra Pipestone County StarRunning Back/Defensive Tackle- Jason Steenstra showed off his speed and strength on both sides of the ball, muscling through blockers and tacklers, also outrunning them if he needed to.
Quarterback/Safety- JT Tinklenberg displayed his throwing and running ability from under-center, making good passes and reads out of the option.
Linebacker- Lucas Winter used his sized to his advantage and really played his position well, wreaked havoc in the backfield.
Center- Bradley Willey really anchored the offensive line and held his blocks.
2022
Linebacker- Weston Burke really blitzed hard and made great tackles for loss.
“We played them real tough the first half, but our lack of experience caught us in the second half.” First year Lake Crystal Head Coach Kevin Hagge said, “we played exceptionally well to open the season, but there is a lot of work to do.”
The Knights played 8 seniors throughout the night. Junior Quarterback Evan Mann tossed a short pass to Senior Wideout Tristan Jones who would take it in for the 12-yard touchdown. Like Coach Hagge mentioned earlier, his squad ran their option offense well for the opening night.
Highlighted players from Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial:
2020
Wide Receiver/Linebacker- Tristan Jones showed to be a favorable target, always finding a way to get open.
2021
Quarterback/Defensive Back – Evan Mann ran the offense with plenty of poise and really commanded the young team really well.